When I Was Eight

May 1, 2013

K-Gr 4-This condensed, illustrated version of Fatty Legs (Annick, 2010) brings the power of literacy to even younger children. An eight-year-old Inuit child from Banks Island in far northern Canada desperately wanted to learn to read English like her older sister, but her father refused to let her attend the Indian Residential School. However, her persistent pleading wore away his resistance, and he consented. They made the five-day trek to the Catholic-run school where Olemaun was stripped of her Native identity-her hair, her clothes, even her name. She was allowed to keep only her beloved copy of Alice in Wonderland. Renamed Margaret, she clung to her desire to learn to read, enduring humiliation and harsh treatment from cruel nuns and unkind classmates. She instinctively knew that literacy was powerful, and she used it to give her courage and "to carry [her] far away from the laughter." In a showdown with a nun, Margaret defied the insensitive teacher, who in turn tried to humiliate Margaret by demanding that she read a difficult passage aloud in class. However, she read without hesitation and triumphed. "There was no stopping me" is an accurate description of what happens when someone-child or adult-learns to read. Sprinkled throughout are details of Inuit life. The beautiful, expressive watercolor illustrations depict Margaret's journey from her village to the misery of residential school to her success. This book is a small but powerful reminder of the freedom that literacy brings.-Lisa Crandall, formerly at the Capital Area District Library, Holt, MI

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2013
The authors of Fatty Legs (2010) distill that moving memoir of an Inuit child's residential school experience into an even more powerful picture book. "Brave, clever, and as unyielding" as the sharpening stone for which she's named, Olemaun convinces her father to send her from their far-north village to the "outsiders' school." There, the 8-year-old receives particularly vicious treatment from one of the nuns, who cuts her hair, assigns her endless chores, locks her in a dark basement and gives her ugly red socks that make her the object of other children's taunts. In her first-person narration, she compares the nun to the Queen in Alice in Wonderland, a story she has heard from her sister and longs to read for herself, subtly reminding readers of the power of literature to help face real life. Grimard portrays this black-cloaked nun with a scowl and a hooked nose, the image of a witch. Her paintings stretch across the gutter and sometimes fill the spreads. Varying perspectives and angles, she brings readers into this unfamiliar world. Opening with a spread showing the child's home in a vast, frozen landscape, she proceeds to hone in on the painful school details. A final spread shows the triumphant child and her book: "[N]ow I could read." Utterly compelling. (Picture book/memoir. 5-9)

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May 1, 2013
Grades 1-3 In this picture-book memoir, an adaption of Fatty Legs (2010), Olemaun (later known as Margaret) an Inuit, recollects how she begged her father to attend the church-run Indian residential school so she could fulfill her cherished dream to learn to read. Once there, what she discovers is the school is draconian. Using a simple, direct tone, Olemaun describes how a nun cuts her braid, changes her name, and assigns an endless list of chores. Classmates tease. Even as she labors, Olemaun finds strength in memories of her father's love and uses every opportunity to study the alphabet and sound out words. Effective shadow-ridden illustrations capture the pervasive atmosphere of abuse, but the final picture speaks volumes about Olemaun's determination and triumph: her face appears as large and shining as the sun emerging from darkness, because she has taught herself to read. A historical note providing context would have been helpful, but advanced readers can turn to the authors' longer work. A searing account of assimilation policies and a celebration of the human spirit.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)